Chamber HR : Are You Aware Of The New Right To ‘Carers Leave’?
As a business, are you aware of the new right to ‘carers leave’ which comes in next month?
From 6 April 2024, employees will be entitled to unpaid leave to give or arrange care for a ‘dependant’ who has a physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months, a disability, as defined in the Equality Act 2010 and/or care needs because of their old age. The dependant does not have to be a family member. It can be anyone who relies on them for care. This will be a day one right for all employees.
Employees will be able take up to one week of leave every 12 months. A ‘week’ means the length of time they usually work over 7 days. They can either take a whole week off or take individual days or half days throughout the year, to give them flexibility.
Employees will need to give you as their employer notice before they want their leave to start. If the request is for half a day or a day, the notice period must be at least 3 days. If the request is for more than one day, the notice period must be at least twice as long as the requested leave. For example, if the request is for 2 days, the notice period must be at least 4 days.
The notice period needs to be in full days, even if the request includes half day amounts.
You cannot refuse a carer’s leave request but you can ask the employee to take it at a different time, for operational reasons.
If you do decide to delay the leave, you must agree another date within one month of the requested date for the leave, and put the reason for the delay and new date in writing to the employee within 7 days of the original request, and before the requested start date of the leave.
For more information, please contact Sarah Darbyshire at HR Solutions Yorkshire
